Photographic contact printing and copying apparatus



April 1s, 1939.

C. E. F. RUTHERFORD PHoToGRAPuIc GONTAGTPR'INTING AND COPYING APPARATUSFiled Jan. 13, 1937 k ,9 .a e J9 Nif. n l w. .O

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PatentedlApr. 18, 1939 i I rnoToonArmc ooNTAcT PRINTING AND comoAPPARATUS Cuthbert Edward IFoster IRutherford,

f London, England` Appuwion January 13, 1937, serial Nc. 120,43: InGreat Britain January 24, 1936 6 Claims. (Cl. 95-73) The presentinvention relates to hand-operated contact printing apparatus of thekind comprising a box-like structure provided with a hinged lid to whichis secured a pressure pad adapted to be brought into contact withlight-sensitivel photographic material resting upon the upper or lowersurface of a document or the like to be copied, and which willhereinafter be referred to as the medium. 1 f 10 A drawback associatedwith such machines at present in use is that the intensity or strengthof the matter inscribed onthe medium and required,

to be reproduced frequently varies at dierent parts of the medium. Thisnecessitates a movl5 able filter so arranged as to partially vignettethe strong portions of the medium to be copied. Now when this operationis made by tray or drawout filters, which protrude beyond the connes ofthe apparatus or have to be taken completely out for the quicker whitelight` transmitted positive printing process, it makes a slow andcumbersome operation requiring care and manipulation,

beingv proportionately vgreater in relation toincrease in the copyingdimensions of the apparatus employed.

Inrthe case of an operator making hundreds of exposures a day ofintermittent positive printing and reflex coloured screen printingmanipulation of the fllter'alone may occupy an hour or more.

According to this invention one or more coloured filters 'is or are soarranged and mounted that it or they can be extended or retracted. toany desired extent within the confines of the box. With this arrangementflexible filters-can be employed,. and the mounted on spring rollers sothat they can be rapidly extended or retracted, thereby affording meanswhereby the operator can rapidly change over from white light positiveprinting to reflex coloured screen negative printing. I'he 4light mayalsov be caused to pass through a semitransparent white diffusingelement which may,

for example, be of a cellulose acetate material.

Another drawback inherent in existing. appa- 45 ratus is that whenprinting is effected by reflecf tion, that is when the sensitlsedsurface of the light-sensltlsed sheet is uppermost, unsatisfac, toryresults have frequently been obtained owing to the nature of thebackground, which was permanent.

According to this invention. a' movable coloured screen or illter isso'arranged that it ,can at will be drawn over a permanent vdarkbackground.

One `form of construction of the invention is illustrated in the annexeddrawing, in which:-

filters are preferablyy Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation with thelid in the raised position, and

Fig. 2 is' a. section on the line 2*--2 of Fig. 1,

the lid being closed.

In this drawing, a is a rectangular box-like container provided with ahinged lid b. At the lower part of the container strip lamps c arearranged side by side. Above these lamps a white diiuser d ishorizontally arranged, and is provided with a tensioning spring d.'Above the diffuser d are located two yellow lters e and e' respectively,arranged to be movable in parallel slots f and f' and mounted onself-winding spring rollers g and g to enable rapid backward movement ofthe lters to be obtained, each filter being provided with a catch bymeans of which vit can lbe held in any extended position.` Each of thecatches in this form of the device consists inL .a guide pin p secued tothe free end ofthe lter and being of a length to extend through theslots in opposite sides of the container a and to pro- .ject beyond theouter surfaces thereof at opposite sides. 'I'he projecting endsv of thepin p are screw threaded to receive clamping nuts q which frictionallyengage vagainst the outer surfaces of the container a to hold the filterat any selected Aposition along' the slots.v These slots ,f and ,1"lserve a three-fold purpose; in addltionto serving as trackways for thefilters they facilitate the entry of cooling air to the apparatus, andfurther they act as guides when pieces of filter are used for shadowingor vignetting -a part of the medium. The usual glass working plate h lisarranged at the top of the container a.

The lid b is provided with a pressure pad 1c of spongy rubber, and iscovered on its inner sur- .face with a strip'l of black material, whichcan serve as a background. In addition to this black. surface there is afurther background vin the form of an opaque filterv or light-reflectingscreen m,' preferably yellow, which can be drawn from a roller `n acrossthe strip l. A catch o serves to hold the lter 1n in place.

Having thus described the nature of the saidv invention and the bestmeans I know of carrying ing the light fromv said source, a self-windingroller mounted in said structure near a side thereof and above saidlight source, said roller being adapted to receive said flexible stripwound thereon, and cooperating means on said hexible strip and saidstructure for releasably holding said iiexible strip in unwound positionextended substantially across said structure above said light sourcewhereby to modify the light from the light source, said strip remainingwholly within said structure in both wound and unwound positions.

2. A photographic printing device for use in reflex copying comprising abox-like structure having a body and a hinged lid, a light source in thebody, a support for photographic material including a light-sensitivematerial in the body between the vlid and the light source, a pressurepad in the lid adapted to press upon photographic material on saidsupport when the lid is in closed position, said pad having its outersurface of one color, a flexible background strip of a color differentfrom the color of said pressure pad surface, at least one of said colorsbeing light refleeting, a roller mounted in the lid at one side thereofto hold the said strip wound thereon, and releasable cooperating meanson said strip and said lid at the side opposite said roller for holdingthe strip extended over the said pressure' pad to form a printingbackground, whereby the reflecting color can be placed above thephotographic material to reilect light passing through the material backto the material for reiiex copying.

3. A photographic printing device for use in reflex copying comprising abox-like structure having a body and ahinged lid, alight source in thebody, a support for photographic material including a light-sensitivematerial in the body tween the lid and the light soxn'ce, a pad in thelid adapted to press upon photographic material on said support when thelid in closed position, said pad having its outer surface of one color,a :dexible background strip of a color different from the vcolor of saidpressure pad surface, at least one of said colors being lightreflecting, a spring roller molmted in the lid at one side of thepressure pad to hold the said strip wound thereon, a hook on the saidstrip at the outer end thereof when wound on said roller, and means inthe lid at the opposite side of the pressure pad engageable by said hookto hold the said strip releasably over said pressure pad to form aprinting background whereby the reecting color can be placed above thephotogfaphic material to reflect light passing through the material backto the material for reflex copying.

4. A photographic printing device comprising a box-like structure havinga body and a hinged lid. a light source in the lower part of the body, asupport for photographic material including a light-sensitive materialin the upper part o f the body, spressurepadinthelidadaptedto press uponphotographic .material on said support whenthelidisinclosedpositimsaidpadhavingits outer surface of one color, aflexible strip of a color diifex'ent from the color of said pressure padsurface. atleast one of said colors being light reecting, a rollermounted in the lid at one side thereof to hold the said strip woundthereon, cooperating releasable means on sail strip and said lid forholding the strip extended over the said pressure pad to form a printingbackground, a flexible colored iilter strip, a filter holding roller`mounted near one side of the body between the light soln'ce and the saidsupport to receive the said filter strip wound thereon, said body havingguiding slots therein at substantially the horizontal plane of the saidlter holding roller, and means attached to the free end of the saidfilter strip relative to its position when wound on its said roller forengagement in the said guiding slots to guide the filter strip tohorizontal position between the said light source and support, said lastnamed means releasably holding said filter in unwound filteringposition, -said iliter modifying the light before it strikes thephotographic material and said background strip modifying light passingthrough the photographic material.

5. A photographic'printing device comprising a box-like structure havinga bodv and a. hinged lid, a light source in the body, a. support for`photographic material including a. light-sensitive material in the bodybetween the light source and the lid, a exible colored filter strip, aspring roller mounted in the said body near a side thereof between saidlight source and support, said roller being adapted to receive the saidlter strip wound thereon, guiding means in the body extendinghorizontally at substantially the plane of said roller, and means on thesaid filter strip cooperating' with said guiding means to guide saidstrip to an extended position between said light source and support andto hold the strip releasably in extended position.

6. A photographic printing device comprising a box-like structure havinga body and a hinged lid, a light source in the body, a support forphotographic material including a light-sensitive material in the bodybetween the light source and the lid, a flexible colored filter strip, aself-winding roller mounted in the body near a side thereof between saidlight source and support, said msnm Ro'rmmnn.

